We usually don`t get that bad of rain, Fairbanks only averages 10" per year, but it usually comes in just small enough quantities to keep hay farming interesting. It usually seems to be dry through June, with about 8-10 good days in July, and then we usually get a real nice stretch early in september, but then the dew comes off so late, and on so early, that dry-down is slow. Then some years are totally out of character, and Alaska is so big that what works in Fairbanks might not in Delta, or much less on the coast at Palmer. Then again, I`m selling timothy/brome squares for $12 a bale, and I`m on the cheap side.
I gotcha on the silage comment, I misunderstood. I`m not set up with a chopper yet, but I`m looking at getting one and some cows to diversify a bit, and put any wasted hay to use.
As for salting the stack, I`ve done it, learned the trick from my dad, and I think it has its place, but I honestly don`t think it will save hay that is too damp to keep. Where I have seen the best results is when I get clumps of vetch in the bales, they dry down muchslower, and can spoil a good portion of the bale. My reason for not think salt helps much is merely because of the weight of water in a damp bale (very noticeable) VS. the amount of salt usually applied and the amount of weight that the bales lose (not much). I guess pickiling the hay will keep it from spoiling, though.
As for cutting at the wrong time of day, I mostly agree with you. I wait for the dew to come off, other than that I try to mow as early as I can. When we are trying to get hay dry as fast as possible, often we have to cut when our tires are a bit damp rolling on the ground, but we leave it in a windrow, let the sun and wind dry the ground, and then ted it out, our ground is almost always moist so it works better than nothing. As for cutting too dry, never seen that, doubt I will!
We have our share of crazies up here, they don`t know a thing about hay or making it, but they certainly are willing to share the wives tales. I had quite a few leave before I started fibbing about what my fields are. Several of my fields are meadow foxtail, a good cool-season grass very similar to timothy in appearance, with no relation to barley foxtail, that everybody knows and hates. Nobody would buy my hay, until I told them all it was timothy, and not a one has known better yet.
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Today's Featured Article - On the Road with Dave Gohl: Auction Musings - by Dave Gohl. I was thinking the other day about all the auctions I've been to in the last few years. There've been many. Some have been very good, some have been well, disappointing to say the least. But no matter how good or bad auctions may be, we always seem to stay until the item we've come for or are interested in is on the block. I've been to some auctions near and far. I think the furthest has been the Two Cylinder 7 in the Amana Colonies last year. Lots of stuff, lots of people. I've also atten
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